Land Reform And Indigenisation Blunder To Cost Mnangagwa State House

Itai Mushekwe/ Nancy Mabaya/ Malvin Motsi/ Mary-Kate Kahari

COLOGNE/VANCOUVER/HARARE– President Emmerson Mnangagwa, risks having his presidency short-lived and turned to just but a flash in the pan, due to political errors on his new land reform and black empowerment policy stance, a classified intelligence report made available to Spotlight Zimbabwe, last week reveals.

The report allegedly prepared last month by operatives said to be still sympathetic with ousted leader, Robert Mugabe, in the country’s dreaded yet factious Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), states that Mnangagwa’s “days in office are numbered”, as he is going to likely lose power in the coming few months for reversing and compromising otherwise irreversible twin policies (land and indigenisation) of his predecessor, which are blamed for causing food security decimation in the country and a collapsing economy, due to capital flight and dislocating macro-economic fundamentals.

Government insiders claim that the CIO or national secret service, is now divided among three factions, split among Mugabe, Mnangagwa and the military.

In a bid to get Harare’s comatose economy back on track, Mnangagwa has launched a campaign to open Zimbabwe for business, while ratcheting up command agriculture, with the intention to increase food production. However, the new dispensation by Mnangagwa’s regime although largely embraced by the International community, including China, Britain and the European Union, is seen as betrayal of Mugabe and an attempt to “have imperialist capital having its way in the country” thus placing the ruling Zanu PF party in jeopardy of losing votes.

Spotlight Zimbabwe, can exclusively reveal that prior to his dethronement from office last November, Mugabe was reportedly working on revising the country’s indigenisation laws from the current 51 percent local ownership, to a 70 percent stake. Furthermore his then unstoppable party youth wing troops were also about to be “granted a greenlight” to confiscate all remaining farms in the hands of white farmers, to quench the thirst of youths who are hungry for land. Mugabe’s fallen administration was also going to offer trusted white farmers indefinite lease offers subject to periodical reveiws, as opposed to the 5 year leases which were on the table.

Mnangagwa’s government is moving away from Mugabe’s shadow, by offering all farmers black and white 99 year leases, and also revising indigenisation laws especially in the mining sector. Finance minister, Patrick Chinamasa, recently announced that the new administration is going to remove the local ownership requirement for foreign investment into the country, save for the diamond and platinum sectors.

This publication has been told that Mnangagwa’s stance on indigenisation,is being influenced mainly by China, which has invited him for an official State visit in April. President Xi Jinping was said to be alarmed by Mugabe’s indigenisation law, which initially had guaranteed Beijing exemption, but was now having her businesses and companies facing the threat of majority control by local blacks, as Mugabe was not backing down.

China, is Africa’s biggest foreign investor, and has more stakes in Zimbabwe. Due to the Asian giant’s massive investments in mining, agriculture, energy, mobile communications and construction, she has more political influence in Harare than other nations. Some 16 years ago, when Washington and Brussels imposed targeted sanctions after Zimbabwe’s 2002 presidential elections, Beijing came to the rescue by investing in over 100 projects. Jinping has also promised billions of dollars in direct aid and investment, since his last and only visit to the country in December 2015.

“The President’s days in office are numbered,” reads part of the intelligence report. “Land reform and indigenisation policies have become a component of national security, and a legacy of the former president. The reversal and revision of these twin policies under the current leadership will cost the ruling party crucial votes. Many Zimbabweans, are not going to be comfortable to have imperialist capital having its way in the country, as they continue to suffer.”

Other sources said Mugabe had recently expressed anger, at the way Mnangagwa is running the country and opening it up to domination by outsiders, when he recently met his former deputy in Zanu PF, Joice Mujuru.

“Nyika inotongwa nevanhu vayo (A country is ruled by its own people),” said a politician close to Mujuru who was a former minister under Mugabe, but dropped under Mnangagwa’s cabinet. “People can now see for themselves why he (Mugabe) was reluctant to hand over power to him (Mnangagwa). You cannot say you’re open for business, to benefit foreign investors alone and sacrifice the natives. I won’t talk about the land issue, because it is very emotive. Vakuru (the elder Mugabe) is not happy. Where in the world have you seen blacks in foreign lands being given farms with 99 year leases? I can tell you point blank that he (Mnangagwa) is going to lose State House because of this. Any piece of land in the hands of non-natives, is a careless surrender of sovereignty. Blood was lost and we must not play games.”

Mnangagwa himself, as if sensing tension said he was not going to parcel back land to white commercial farmers.

“It will never happen,” Mnangagwa said in a speech to ruling party supporters in central Zimbabwe on Saturday, which was televised nationally.

Mnangagwa, according to Reuters news agency, is keen to re-engage white farmers to rescue the economy, for the good of a new Zimbabwe. The report, published in September 2017 based on intelligence documents, also reveals that Mnangagwa was initially planning a unity government, which would pursue a new relationship with thousands of white farmers who were chased off in violent seizures of land approved by Mugabe in the early 2000s. The farmers would be compensated and reintegrated.

Mnangagwa feels that reviving the commercial agriculture sector is vital, according to the documents. “Mnangagwa realises he needs the white farmers on the land when he gets into power … he will use the white farmers to resuscitate the agricultural industry, which he reckons is the backbone of the economy,” a Jan. 6, 2016 report reads.

In the past Mnangagwa has been accused of fronting for white farmers by Mugabe, after he disclosed that he had protected a good number of white commercial farmers mostly in the Midlands area, from losing their farms during the land reform clampdown.

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“The President’s days in office are numbered,” reads part of the intelligence report. “Land reform and indigenisation policies have become a component of national security, and a legacy of the former president. The reversal and revision of these twin policies under the current leadership will cost the ruling party crucial votes. Many Zimbabweans, are not going to be comfortable to have imperialist capital having its way in the country, as they continue to suffer.”

Yes President Mnangagwa was brave, very brave indeed, to have ditched these two Zanu PF’s flagship policies. Zanu PF is a party of thugs and thugs like to be roused into a frenzy of mindless anger, passion and hatred; the land reform and indigenisation roused all these emotions with the violence farm seizures bring the added bonus of revenge!

Mugabe was clever enough to turn these issues into highly emotive issues, it has been near impossible to make many ordinary people, much less Zanu PF hard-liners, see the reality of these two being the root causes of the country’s economic meltdown and, by the same token, the ticket to the economic recovery.

Whilst President Mnangagwa was right to ditch both policies in his drive to revive the Zimbabwe economy he is naïve to think that alone is enough to deliver the economic recovery. Under Mugabe’s leadership Zimbabwe had earned itself the pariah state status because of the regimes rampant corruption, lawlessness and brutal denial of other people’s freedoms and basic rights.

There will be no meaningful economic recovery from the reversal of the land and indigenisation policies because Zimbabwe is still a pariah state ruled by thugs. Mnangagwa will not hold free and fair elections this year and thus confirm his regime is one of thugs.

Mnangagwa will get all the criticism for reversing Zanu PF’s flagship policies without any economic recovery benefits to show for it!